DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Opposition to U.S. school vaccine mandates rose during pandemic -survey
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-16 | by ( Shawana Alleyne-Morris | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

That was up from 16% in a 2019 Pew Research Center poll conducted before the COVID-19 pandemic, KFF researchers said. Most were either unvaccinated or had received just one of two recommended doses of MMR vaccine, according to City of Columbus Public Health. Opposition to required childhood inoculations was strongest among those who identified as Republican in the survey, with 44% now opposed to childhood school vaccine mandates, up from 20% before the pandemic. Among those identifying as Democrats, 88% still support school vaccine mandates. Although childhood vaccine recommendations are made by the CDC's Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, school immunization requirements are set by individual states.

Warren said she was concerned about reports alleging Schmidt leveraged his positions on two federal advisory committees "to further his own personal financial interests." Those reports could suggest the Defense Department did not adequately apply federal conflict of interest rules "and therefore failed to protect the public interest" in Schmidt's case, wrote the Massachusetts Democrat. There was no indication that Schmidt broke any ethics rules or did anything unlawful while chairing the commission. Both advisory boards are subject to conflict-of-interest rules under the Federal Advisory Committee Act. "I am concerned by press reports indicating the Department may not have adequately followed FACA conflict of interest rules and therefore failed to protect the public interest."

☆ North Carolina treasurer wants BlackRock CEO to go, but keeps assets at firm
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-09 | by ( Ross Kerber | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Dec 9 (Reuters) - North Carolina's state treasurer on Friday called for BlackRock Inc (BLK.N) Chief Executive Laurence Fink to resign or be removed from the top asset management firm, citing its focus on sustainable investing, but said public assets will stay with the firm. A division of Folwell's office, the North Carolina Retirement Systems (NCRS), has about $14 billion invested through BlackRock. A focus on ESG is not a focus on returns," the statement said. Meanwhile, Democratic officials and investors want BlackRock and other companies to come to terms with issues like climate change or workforce diversity. Earlier this week, small activist hedge fund Bluebell Capital Partners also sought Fink's departure over the company's ESG efforts.

“And the pulse oximeter is used from any age to geriatrics,” he said. The US Food and Drug Administration is mulling over next steps for the regulation of pulse oximeter devices, which may give less accurate readings for people of color. A panel of its Medical Devices Advisory Committee met in November to review clinical data on the issue. “I think of the pulse oximeter reading in the same way. Of course this can be dangerous.”Ultimately, the pulse oximeter can estimate the amount of oxygen a person has in their blood without the need for a blood sample.

☆ Yellen sees key role for Treasury's racial equity council despite Republican criticism
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-06 | by ( Andrea Shalal | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, Dec 5 (Reuters) - U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen on Monday said a new racial equity advisory committee, which has drawn the ire of Republican lawmakers, would play a big role in helping the department address acute economic disparities faced by communities of color. Yellen told the inaugural meeting of the 25 members of the Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity that the Biden administration remained focused on ensuring that disadvantaged communities were no longer left behind in the U.S. economy. "The Treasury Advisory Committee on Racial Equity will play a major role in our effort," she said. Yellen in 2021 named Janis Bowdler, a Latina activist and former head of the philanthropic arm of JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N), as the department's first-ever counselor for racial equity. A spokesperson for Brady said the lawmakers had not yet received a reply from Yellen or the Treasury.

☆ WHO renames monkeypox as ‘mpox’
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-28 | by ( Jamie Gumbrecht | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +2 min

CNN —The World Health Organization announced Monday that “mpox” is now the preferred name for monkeypox. “Both names will be used simultaneously for one year while ‘monkeypox’ is phased out,” the organization said. In August, WHO encouraged people to propose new names for monkeypox by submitting suggestions to it website. The preferred term mpox can be used in other languages,” WHO said in its statement. So far, more than 81,000 monkeypox cases in 110 cases have been reported to WHO in the recent outbreak.

☆ Singapore's gig workers to get work injury, pension coverage
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Chen Lin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SINGAPORE, Nov 24 (Reuters) - Singapore will extend work injury insurance and pension coverage to food delivery and ride-hailing workers under proposed legislative changes that it aims to implement as early as late 2024, the Manpower Ministry said. The new rules will affect about 73,000 workers who deliver food or drive passengers for companies such as Grab (GRAB.O) , Gojek (GOTO.JK), Deliveroo (ROO.L) and Delivery Hero's (DHER.DE) Foodpanda. Workers would gain coverage under the national pension system, which collects contributions from both workers and companies, and receive work injury insurance covering medical expenses, income loss, and lump sum compensation for permanent disability or death. Gig workers would not, however, be considered full-time employees entitled to paid leave and other benefits. Reporting by Chen Lin in Singapore; Editing by Xinghui Kok and Edmund KlamannOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Grab, Gojek are 'supportive' of Singapore's move to expand job protection for gig workers
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-24 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Southeast Asian tech giants Grab and Gojek said they are "supportive" of recommendations made by an advisory committee to expand gig worker protection in Singapore starting in 2024. In Singapore, platform or gig workers, often ride-hailing or food delivery drivers, have thus far been considered self-employed. As a result, they do not receive employer contributions to the Central Provident Fund, the national pension savings scheme. As of 2020, the city-state's Ministry of Manpower estimated that such workers made up about 3% of the resident workforce, or 79,000 people. Under the CPF measure, both platform workers and platform companies such as Grab, Gojek, Foodpanda and Deliveroo will need to make contributions at the same rate as employees and employers.

☆ A top Wall Street analyst names 6 major events that could send biotech stocks soaring between now and the end of 2022
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Yeji Jesse Lee | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Cantor Fitzgerald analysts named six big events to mark on your calendar. While the majority of the expected events are set to come from smaller biotech companies, bigger companies — like Roche, Gilead, and Alnylam — have their own events coming through the pipeline. Here are the six major events from big biotech companies that could send stocks soaring:1. Cantor Fitzgerald analysts give Gilead's stock a neutral rating and they have an overweight rating on Arcus. Lenacapavir "could become a much bigger piece of the HIV growth narrative over the next few years," according to Cantor Fitzgerald analysts.

☆ 'Airplane seats are far too small': Travelers are calling on the Federal Aviation Administration to implement larger seat size minimums
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-09 | by ( Jordan Hart | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

In August, the FAA opened its site to public comments regarding the safety of airplane seats. Thousands of travelers voiced their discomfort with current seat dimensions on planes. The FAA invited passengers to share their thoughts and concerns on the matter to help the agency decide whether to implement a rule on minimum seat dimensions. "The space between each seat already causes knees to be against the pockets of the next seat in front of you." In 2018, Congress passed the FAA Reauthorization Act, directing the agency to issue seat dimension rules regarding passenger safety.

☆ FDA staff flags uncertainties on Veru's COVID drug; EUA hopes lift shares
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-07 | by ( Bhanvi Satija | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Nov 7 (Reuters) - Staff reviewers at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday identified several uncertainties around Veru Inc's (VERU.O) data for its experimental COVID-19 drug but did not raise any new concerns, sending its shares surging 52%. A panel of the health regulator's outside experts is scheduled to discuss authorization of the drug later this week, including whether additional data is required. Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Brandon Folkes said the FDA is "leading the advisory committee towards granting an EUA" provided Veru commits to an adequate post-EUA study. Veru has applied for an EUA for the drug, sabizabulin, as a treatment for hospitalized moderate-to-severe COVID-19 patients at high risk of developing an acute respiratory distress syndrome. If authorized, sabizabulin, which Veru was originally testing as a treatment for prostate cancer, would become its second drug on the market.

☆ Kentucky children’s agency is taking ‘additional action’ against foster care facility where 7-year-old boy suffocated
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-04 | by ( Safia Samee Ali | Safia Samee Ali Is A Reporter For Nbc News Digital | Based In Chicago. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +6 min

The Kentucky agency charged with overseeing state youth centers said it has taken new action against the nonprofit organization that operates a Louisville foster care facility where a 7-year-old boy suffocated to death in July. The Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services took “additional action” against Uspiritus on Wednesday, Susan Dunlap, a spokesperson for the agency, said in a statement. The cabinet will not tolerate placing children anywhere where their safety and well-being are not prioritized,” Eric Friedlander, secretary of the Kentucky Cabinet for Health and Family Services, said in a statement following the additional action. The facility said it “dismissed” the two employees who it says were involved immediately after the incident and the Kentucky Cabinet of Health and Family Services suspended new foster care placements at Brooklawn. The health and safety of the Brooklawn family is always our top priority,” Uspiritus, which also operates Brooklawn’s sister facility, Bellewood, said in a statement following the boy’s death.

☆ New RSV vaccines may soon put an end to rough seasons
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-31 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +15 min

The monoclonal antibody, Synagis, is given monthly during RSV season to protect preemies and other high-risk babies. In the failed RSV vaccine trial, the chemical the researchers used to deactivate the virus denatured its proteins – essentially flattening them. Four companies have RSV vaccines for adults in the final phases of human trials: Pfizer and GSK are testing vaccines for pregnant women as well as seniors. Janssen, Pfizer and GSK each appear effective at preventing infections in adults for the first RSV season after the vaccine. The vaccines for pregnant women are meant to get newborns through their first RSV season.

☆ FDA says two studies showing omicron boosters weren't much better than old Covid shots were too small to come to any conclusions
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-28 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

The recently authorized booster vaccine protects against the original SARS-CoV-2 virus and the more recent omicron variants, BA.4 and BA.5. The Food and Drug Administration said two studies this week showing that the new omicron boosters weren't that much better than the old shots were too small to come to any real conclusions. The antibody responses were slightly higher with the omicron boosters, though the studies concluded the difference wasn't significant. The studies are of public interest because there's very limited human data on how the omicron BA.5 boosters perform right now. The FDA also looked at data directly on the BA.5 shots that came from animal studies.

☆ New Covid boosters aren’t better than old shots at neutralizing omicron BA.5, early studies find
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The new COVID-19 booster which includes protection for Omicron at AltaMed Health Services in South Gate on Thursday, October 6, 2022. Two studies are raising doubts about whether the new omicron BA.5 booster really will offer better protection against Covid than the first generation shot. Scientists at Columbia University in New York City found the new boosters did not produce a better antibody response in humans against BA.5 than the first-generation vaccines. Hotez said there should also be investigations into how the boosters perform against emerging omicron subvariants such as XBB and BQ.1., as the currently dominant BA.5 declines in circulation. It could be the case that the new boosters perform better against these emerging variants than the first generation shots do, Hotez said.

☆ Omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments, putting people with weak immune systems at risk of Covid
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-27 | by ( Spencer Kimball | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +8 min

Emerging omicron subvariants are resistant to key antibody treatments for HIV patients, kidney transplant recipients and other immunocompromised people, making them particularly vulnerable to Covid this winter, the White House warned this week. While this may be true for the general population, it is not the case for people with weak immune systems. Evusheld is an antibody cocktail authorized by the Food and Drug Administration to prevent Covid in people ages 12 and older who have moderately or severely compromised immune systems. Evusheld, made by AstraZeneca , has helped fill a gap in protection for those with weak immune systems who cannot mount a strong response to the vaccines. Jha acknowledged at the White House on Tuesday that the U.S. has dwindling treatment and prevention options for people with weak immune systems as Covid evolves.

☆ Updated Covid-19 boosters offer protection, but new studies suggest they don't offer an edge against Omicron
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-26 | by ( Brenda Goodman | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +13 min

Similar immune responsesThe studies have important limitations, and they aren’t the final word on the updated boosters. In Barouch’s study, antibody concentrations were 15 times higher after the original boosters, rising from 184 to 2,829. They were 17 times higher after the updated shots, jumping from 211 to 3,693. After waiting the recommended three months since his last Covid-19 infection, President Joe Biden got an updated booster Tuesday and urged eligible Americans to do the same. Worobey says that when the strains are combined as they are in the updated boosters, they actually end up competing.

☆ How Google's former CEO Eric Schmidt helped write AI laws in Washington without publicly disclosing investments in AI start-ups
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-24 | by ( Eamon Javers | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +18 min

'Conflict of interest'Schmidt's investment was just the first of a handful of direct investments he would make in AI start-up companies during his tenure as chairman of the AI commission. Altogether, Schmidt and entities connected to him made more than 50 investments in AI companies while he was chairman of the federal commission on AI. To Poulson, Schmidt was simply given too much power over federal AI policy. The new entity would continue the work of the congressionally created federal commission, with many of the same goals and much of the same staff. More than a dozen staffers from the federal commission followed Schmidt to the new private sector project.

Pfizer plans to sell the Covid vaccine it developed with BioNTech at $110 to $130 per dose for teens and adults once the U.S. government stops paying for them, the drugmaker said Friday. Since the start of the pandemic, the government has provided Americans with free Covid tests, vaccines and treatment, through a combination of funding from Congress and other government programs. The government has already stopped providing free Covid tests. A CDC advisory committee voted Wednesday to add Covid vaccines to the Vaccines for Children program, a federal plan that provides free vaccines to children eligible for or covered by Medicaid. Pfizer said it also plans to provide free vaccines to people without insurance through its patient assistance program.

☆ Fact Check-CDC can advise childhood vaccine schedules, but vaccine mandates for school attendance are decided at state level
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Reuters Fact Check | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

As of October 20, the CDC also provides an interim COVID-19 vaccination schedule (here), but has not yet added COVID-19 vaccination to its table of recommended childhood vaccines (here). Massachusetts, New Jersey, Vermont and Ohio do not mandate influenza or HPV vaccines, which are on the CDC’s immunization schedule (here), (here), (here), (here). During the advisory meeting, health officials emphasized that they were not voting on adding COVID-19 shots to the CDC vaccination schedule (here). Most states do not follow the entire CDC’s childhood and adolescent immunization schedule. For example, only five states or territories mandate the HPV vaccine, which is included in the CDC’s childhood immunization schedule, for school attendance.

Chickenpox vaccines have virtually wiped out severe complications and deaths in American children from the highly contagious virus, a new report finds. Chickenpox —which is caused by the varicella-zoster virus, a type of herpes virus — was considered just a normal part of growing up until the vaccine became available in 1995. The chickenpox vaccine implementation is “a tremendous achievement,” said the study’s lead author, Dr. Mona Marin, a medical epidemiologist at the CDC’s National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Disease. An estimated 90.3% of children have been vaccinated against chickenpox by age 2, according to the CDC. The CDC recommends two doses of chickenpox vaccine for children, teens and adults who have never had the disease.

An advisory committee to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention voted Thursday in favor of adding the Covid vaccine to the recommended immunization schedule for children and adults. The decision to officially add Covid vaccination to the schedule now goes to the CDC. The recommended immunization schedule is not a vaccine mandate. For example, the CDC added the HPV vaccine to the recommended schedule in 2006. The CDC's recommended vaccination schedule also provides guidance to insurance providers, which tend to cover vaccines on the list.

☆ Covid-19 Vaccines Should Be Among Regular Immunizations, CDC Advisers Say
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Dominique Mosbergen | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

Vaccine experts advising the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention supported adding Covid-19 vaccines to the agency’s lists of recommended regular immunizations. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices, or ACIP, voted unanimously on Thursday in support of including Covid-19 shots on the lists of measles, tetanus and other inoculations that adults and children 6 months and older should get in the U.S.

☆ U.S. CDC advisers approve adding COVID shots to vaccine schedules
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Oct 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) advisory committee on vaccines on Thursday approved adding COVID-19 vaccines to the agency's recommended immunization schedules for both children and adults. Several committee members stressed that they were not setting a requirement for anyone to receive the shots. Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterThe CDC has recommended that Americans over 6 months of age should receive a COVID-19 vaccine. The CDC stressed that the annual schedules reflect recommendations already approved by ACIP and do not reflect new policies. On Wednesday, ACIP recommended that COVID-19 shots become part of the CDC's vaccine program for children, which provides many types of free inoculations to millions of kids each year.

☆ Covid-19 vaccines will be on the 2023 vaccine schedule, but that doesn’t mean they’re required in schools
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-20 | by ( Deidre Mcphillips | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

CNN —Covid-19 vaccines will be part of recommended immunization schedules in 2023 for both children and adults, after a unanimous vote by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s independent Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices. The board members addressed concerns from the public that adding Covid-19 vaccinations to the schedule would force schools to require the shots. This discussion does not change that.”In fact, Covid-19 vaccines are explicitly banned from being included in school mandates in at least 20 states. “Mandates may not do anything to those people who would pull their kids out of public school,” Hackell said. Schools are public spaces with a level of control, and 95% vaccination coverage is a goal with intent.

Search resuls for: "Advisory Committee"

25 mentions found